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Saudi Arabia appoints daughter of former spy chief as US ambassador

Saudi Arabian government has appointed the daughter of Bandar bin Sultan, the notorious former intelligence chief, as its new ambassador to the United States.

Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz received the royal decree on Saturday to become the new Saudi envoy to Washington.

Reema, who has lived in the US for a long time, would be the first female Saudi ambassador.

Reema bint Bandar is seen in this file photo while speaking in an event in Riyadh.

His father, Bandar bin Sultan, also served as the Saudi envoy to the US for 22 years ending in 2005. He is well known for his alleged role in massive arms deals between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom that ended in 2006. He is believed to have pocketed about two billion dollars in bribery from more than 43 billion pounds earned by the British defense company BAE Systems.

Bandar also served as Saudi intelligence chief between between 2012 and 2014.

Bandar bin Sultan serves as Saudi ambassador to the US from 1983 to 2005.

The appointment come as part of series of royal decrees which also ordered the former Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Khaled bin Salman, a son of reigning monarch King Salman, to serve as deputy to his powerful brother Mohammed bin Salman in the ministry of defense.

Bin Salman the senior, only 33 and considered the de factor ruler of Saudi Arabia, is currently leading a devastating war on Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbor Yemen.

As part of the decrees, it was announced that Saudi soldiers fighting on southern brothers will receive a one-month salary bonus.

More than 1,500 Saudi soldiers have been killed during nearly four years of war on Yemen, many of them in counter-attacks by Yemenis on military positions in southern Saudi territories.

The illegal Saudi war on Yemen has left thousands of Yemeni civilians dead while inflicting huge humanitarian catastrophe on the impoverished nation.